


Troubled Inhumans

by Nocticola



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Haven (TV)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen, Post canon Haven, Post-Troubles (Haven), between s3 and s4 aos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2018-11-06 02:43:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11026947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nocticola/pseuds/Nocticola
Summary: 1)Haven/AoS timeline2) Daisy's first impressions of Haven3)Paige helps her first Inhuman4) Daisy meets Nathan





	1. Timeline

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Technicolorrelays](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Technicolorrelays/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just because the Troubles are over, doesn't mean there's no more supernatural stuff going on in the world.
> 
> Haven & Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. crossover aka how inhumans found refuge in Haven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains overall spoilers for all of Haven. For AoS, set somewhere before S4, maybe around Slingshot.
> 
> I'm not sure how much overlap these two fandoms have, so I hope I have managed to make this understandable for people unfamiliar with either mythology while not being too exposition heavy. Not making any promises, but that was the attempt.

The Troubles finally end for good after over 500 years in December 2011. Paige arrives with baby James a month later. She meets Nathan Wuornos, the newly reappointed Police Chief, and they quickly form a connection and a family. Paige eventually remembers her life as Audrey Parker, orphan FBI agent/Haven PD detective, and reconciles the two memories within her, finally finding peace.  
***  
There are a few months of calm, of Haven pulling itself together again. This time, there is no ignoring the Troubles and the havoc they inflected. But overall, it is for the best. Families and the town can finally heal. The century long conflicts between the Troubled and some non-Troubled people are finally mended, since no family except a rare few where spared the final onslaught of Troubles. Being isolated from the world for months, everyone trying to survive together, also helps.  
Haven heals, just in time for the rest of the world to get weird.  
***  
In May 2012, aliens, the Chitauri, attacks New York. Havenites take the reveals in more stride than most people around the world.  
“It’s a good thing we got our town fixed just in time for this,” Nathan muses to Paige when watching the news coverage of the event. Paige laughs a bit.  
‘One of the casualties was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Phil Coulson, who was taken out by Loki before the start of the actual Battle,’ says the newscaster on the TV. Nathan looks at the picture of the older man at the screen and makes a small ‘huh’ sound. Paige notices it.

“Did you know him?” she asks curiously.  
“Not really. When the last cycle was really starting, S.H.I.E.L.D. sent him here to ask some questions. I met him briefly, but the Chief did most of the talking.”  
“I didn’t know any government agency ever took an official interest in Haven.”  
“That’s the only time I know of. Dad’s hospitality skills might have been one reason,” Nathan smiles fondly at the memory. “I’m pretty sure if there is any documentation about this guy’s visit here it just says ‘Haven handles its own people and problems, we don’t need no government help to deal with shit,’” Nathan’s already deep voice takes a grumpy edge in imitation of his father.  
“Shame though, he seemed like a good guy.”  
“When was this? Was your Trouble back already then?”  
Nathan is quiet a moment, slides his hand over the couch, to feel the fabric, reminds himself once again that the Troubles are really *gone*.  
“2007. Yeah, it was.”  
Paige holds on tight to his other hand and they change the channel, trying to find something else to watch.  
***  
Life in Haven mostly settles into the same rhythms it always did before, into a live in small town coastal Maine, with little league games and farmer’s markets and cats in trees.  
In the rest of the world, suddenly S.H.I.E.L.D. is everywhere. The Battle of New York requires them to be open in a way they hadn’t been before. There is a huge P.R. machine related to it. It doesn’t affect Haven much. Being the town that had periods of supernatural problems and which disappeared for a few months in 2011, doesn’t rate that high on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s to do list. Nathan won’t be surprised if an agent ends up at his doorstep at some point, but he’s not holding his breath.  
***  
The HYDRA reveal in May 2014 is a shock, the way finding out how prevalent Nazi ideologies can still be in the 21st century usually are, but for most its weight doesn’t really register. For decades, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a conspiracy theory, it’s two or so years at the limelight being undercut by a ‘some of them were Nazi!’ less impactful than the other powerful figures that were revealed in the process. 

Nathan does wonder briefly whether Phil Coulson was really S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA, and while he remembers the man’s genuineness and suspects he was really S.H.I.E.L.D., it doesn’t really affect him or Haven. No one came asking for answers, so that’s that.  
***  
*March 2015*

Nathan is sitting at his office when one of his officers, Rebecca Rafferty, knocks at his door.  
“Do you have a minute?”  
“Of course. Is it about Dylan?”  
“In a way, you could say that,” Rebecca says, looking thoughtful and sitting down in front of Nathan’s desk. Nathan is a good listener and waits patiently until Rebecca has figured out how to express what she wants to say.  
“Would you be surprised to learn that the Troubles were not the only, ‘god’s orphans’ to find refuge in Haven?” Rebecca asks tentatively, referring to Haven’s full name which was given to it by the local Mi'kmaq tribe, Tuwiuwok, haven for god’s orphans.  
“Not especially, no. Although I haven’t really heard about any supernatural problems since the Troubles ended.”  
“Yeah, well, we are also pretty good at hiding ourselves,” Rebecca smiles, relieved.  
“We?”  
“The Chitauri, the Asgardians, Mara’s people, they are not the only aliens who’ve visited Earth over the millennia. There is also the Kree. During humanity’s early days, they came here, did some experiments. We call ourselves inhumans.”

'Nathan’s listened to Rebecca tale with neutral interest. After everything he’s seen in Haven, and what’s been happening in the rest of the world since Haven rejoined it, Rebecca’s story makes as much sense as anything else. He only has one issue. He smiles at Rebecca incredulously and shakes his head before saying  
“Inhumans? And I thought Troubled was a sucky semi-positive self descriptor.”  
“Yeah, well, it’s tradition, what can you do,” Rebecca smiles back at Nathan.  
“So, why are you telling me this now?”

“There have been, rumblings, in the inhuman community, for some time. We have mostly hidden from the world, at least those of us who know we’re inhuman. There is a place called Afterlife which has been our sanctuary for the last few decades. Being inhuman isn’t like being Troubled. Each power is unique to the individual, although being inhuman is hereditary. But you need to be exposed to Terrigen crystals in order for your ability to be reveal. It’s not something that you can trigger through trauma like a Trouble. Not everyone gets to transform. It’s something that is highly controlled by our leaders. If you turn out to not be inhuman, it kills you. You never know what your power will be, how to control it. Lot of people have a problem with it.” 

“So, why have you come to me with this? I don’t think there’s much I can personally do.”

“I think something bad is about to go down. I don’t know what and neither really do anyone I know in the Afterlife, but I am worried. Have you noticed how there has been a slight increase in people moving to Haven in the past few months?”

“I guess. I just thought now that we’re not plagued by supernatural afflictions more people appreciate our town’s beauty.”

“I’m sure that’s a part of it. But another part is, that a lot of inhumans like the idea of living in a small town that is used to weird stuff happening and dealing with it. We have been here for generations, just like the Troubled.”

“Am I correct in assuming some people we assume were Troubled in the past actually were inhumans? But you said the ability is not hereditary. How can they stay for more than one cycle before being found out?”

“You know people rarely talked about the contemporary Troubled cycle, let alone the ones in the past. It was easy to just claim your grandparent had the same ability. Not many went through three cycles with full memory of what went on. They just, moved away between cycles when they couldn’t hide that their ability wasn’t a Trouble.”

“That makes sense. So, you’re saying, that there is an inhuman population gathering in Haven. How many of them have powers?”

“For many, it’s more about the having the potential to be an inhuman with powers that makes us stick together. And while there are differences, what Haven went through with the Troubles, it feels familiar.”

“So, you think I should start expecting a population increase here, of people who have the potential to get superpowers?”

“Yes. In addition to the population increase from you and Paige of course. How far along is she, again?”

Nathan blushes a little at the mention of his pregnant wife.

“Couple of more months to go, if all goes well.”  
“Congrats. I’m sure James is being excited about becoming a big brother.”  
“Thank you. He is, we’ll see when the baby comes. I don’t know who is more impatient for the pregnancy to end, Paige or James.”  
“I’m glad. So, I can tell my fellow inhumans that Haven will be save for them?”  
“Yes. They’re Havenites, and we protect our own. If any of them want to contact me, let them know that is OK, too.”  
***  
A few months later, it happens. There is an epidemic of people gaining powers or dying in rock sculptures from eating fish or fish oil capsules.

Haven is not exempt. But the number of deaths is fewer than the overall percentage. Some people try to gain powers without knowing whether they have the heritage or not to survive the transformation. Some are successful, a few die. Some inhumans keep the option open but don’t try to transform within the first months of the epidemic. 

Suddenly, after a 3 year break, Haven is full of people with powers again. Many new inhumans also hear about Haven through the grapevine and move in. The adjustment is mostly smooth. Just because the abilities are always a question mark and always on doesn’t mean that the skills of the Guard and the ones the Haven PD developed after so many years of dealing with the Troubles are not applicable. Adjustments are made accordingly. Nathan helps Rebecca and her fellow inhumans with a lot of transformations and their aftermaths. Paige would want to be more involved, her experience with the Troubles, creating and healing them, would be a huge help, but she misses the first wave of inhuman transformation on account of Laura’s birth. She’s up and ready for the second wave though.  
***  
Over the next year, Haven adjusts again. Instead of housing the Troubled, it now protects the inhumans. They are still pretty much left alone by the outside world. Probably because of their success rate at dealing with the inhuman transformations and the resulting new powers. Not everything goes smoothly, and it is always heartbreaking to find a rock statue of a failed transformation, but they adjust.  
***  
While the rest of the world continues to be mostly oblivious about Haven, it becomes famous in inhuman circles. So much so, that after feeling like her whole life was destroyed (by her own actions in her mind), and the inhuman Daisy Johnson is once again renamed, not by her choice, as Quake, she arrives in Haven.

“Let’s see what's the deal is with this town,” she thinks to herself as she steps of the bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter, Daisy in Haven, is going to be published for AU/Crossover day for Birthday for Daisy event @tumblr on July 1st.


	2. Daisy Johnson in Haven, Maine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy arrives in Haven and takes in its atmosphere and what she's been able to find out about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the way I explained the situation with the Terrigen between seasons 2 and 3 of AoS doesn't fit with canon, but when I was working on this initially, that made more sense in my head. This ended up being a middle chapter, and once I figure out how I won't Daisy's meetings with Havenites to go, I might adjust the issue to fit with canon or I might keep this AU version, I don't know yet. 
> 
> I felt the need to have another exposition chapter for what Daisy (and the world) knows about Haven and her initial impressions before she gets to meet at least Nathan and Paige in the next chapter.

August 2016

Daisy takes a look around the town, taking it all in. It does seem like a nice little town. Very typical East Coast. She grew up in New York so she’s familiar with some of the atmosphere. Although Maine atmosphere is very different to even upstate New York, where she stayed at a few different foster families over the years. She’s also read her Stephen King, and she can definitely get why he keeps writing about his home state. There is definitely a layer or two of secrets. 

This town must be full of them. When she started hearing rumors about Haven, she did an extensive search on the town one afternoon. She’s lacking time and resources and maybe if she dug deeper she might find more, but she suspects there is very little information to be found and she found all there was. 

There’s a local paper with a suspiciously spare online archives. She managed to check S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files undetected but could find nothing more than a short report from Coulson, of all people, from 2007. It only mentioned a short interview with the local police chief, Wournos , Wornose, or something. Very uncooperative. Coulson’s suggestion had been to let the town deal with its own stuff in peace, and it seems to have been the case. Whatever happened in Haven, seemed to very much *stay* in Haven. She wishes she could contact Coulson, to ask him about the town but she can’t get him involved in inhuman business. She had also ran into rumors of a secret Haven episode of the Darkside Seekers, but she hadn’t been able to find anything conclusive on whether such an episode actually existed. She did spend a few amusing hours looking up episodes of the show. There was something vaguely familiar to her about the host, Seth, but she has no idea why that would be. There was a small spike in interest in the town in late 2011, when it supposedly reappeared in the world. Sensationalist rags wrote about it a lot for a time, but soon aliens and Avengers stuff became more popular than a random Maine town that might or might not have been cut off from the world for a while. What became very clear to Daisy was that this town did not like to talk to outsiders. She’s still trying to figure out the right approach when it comes to asking questions.

Looking around the town, thinking about what she knows about it, it does seem like a good town to disappear to, for an inhuman. It’s very clear the town has its own shit it has hid, for decades if not centuries, which would make it a natural hiding place. It’s beautiful, small and remote. Its full name certainly makes it seem even more appropriate. Haven for god’s orphans. She could definitely use a haven now. 

Checking out the people, she thinks she might recognize a few inhumans from Afterlife. There’s nothing overt, but it seems that the Kree mostly liked their weapons to have to option of blending in, so most transformations are not overtly physical, although those of course also exist, like Raina and Gordon. She seems to blend in well enough that she is not particularly attracting attention. Some Afterlifers might recognize her, being the leader’s controversial daughter, but she’s not sure how gossipy inhuman where out in the world. Her work is starting to gain notoriety but she still mostly has her anonymity.

She first started hearing about Haven a few months prior. She saved a few new inhumans from the Watchdogs, who asked her whether Haven truly was *safe*. She hadn’t heard of the town, but after she asked around, some of the other inhumans she had encountered had also heard of the town. The rumor was, there were no Watchdogs, it was easy to hide there, and the town’s infrastructure was well suited to inhumans. Daisy hadn’t really found anything to contradict those rumors, but she hadn’t been able to properly confirm them either. 

Protecting the inhumans is Daisy’s life mission now, and if this town really could be a real haven for them, she needs to see it for herself. She doesn’t want another Afterlife, an isolating halfway house. The release of the Terrigen into the ocean made it so inhumans had more out right choice in if and when to transform. It’s clearly not always a good thing, but her mother’s methods also had flaws. She hasn’t heard of any disturbing inhuman activity in Haven before arriving there, so if there really is an inhuman population there, maybe they have managed to figure something out. She just needs to figure out what they have done and what is going on in the town. 

Her best bet of figuring everything out? The Police Station and the local chief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trivia: The point about Seth seeming familiar to Daisy is that Kris Lemche played the inhuman Ethan who was experimented and killed by HYDRA in 2x17 Melinda and 2x18 The Frenemy of my Enemy and Daisy briefly met him in 2x17.


	3. Paige's first Inhuman case (July 2015)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paige deals with her first inhuman transformation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Terricolorrelayes's comment on tumblr when I published the first chapter.  
> http://nocticola.tumblr.com/post/162357644411/i-just-had-this-vision-of-paige-helping-someone
> 
> Chloe's fancast is Stephany Jacobsen, specifically as Watts/Tess in Three Inches (2011)  
> https://demisexualnathanvuornos.tumblr.com/post/166543771188/troubled-inhumans-chapter-3-paiges-first

*July 2015*

Paige is just about to put Laura to sleep for her nap when her cellphone buzzes. Laura is already asleep, so she finishes putting her in her crib, leaves the room and takes the call.

“Paige Wuornos speaking, how may I help you?”  
“Hi, Paige. It’s me, Chloe. I’m… I’m thinking of doing it. Going through with it.” Chloe is one of Paige’s teacher friends. She came to Haven because of its openness to Inhumans, since she is a Descendant herself, before they were revealed to the world, but she hasn’t yet had to courage to go through with the transformation. 

“Oh. You’re sure?” Chloe has talked herself into and out of going through with the transformation ever since non-known Descendants started transforming a few months ago from fish oil capsules. 

“Yeah. Can you came be with me? For the aftermath. I have no idea what types of powers I might get. It would help to have a friend,” Chloe sounds anxious but determined. 

“Of course. I just put Laura down for her nap and James is at Vicky’s. I can call Nathan and he can come home for lunch. I can be at your place in half an hour.”

“Thank you so much, Paige. Give my love to Nathan and the kids.”

Paige ends one call and makes the next one right after.

“Chief Wuornos speaking,” Nathan sounds very official, so Paige suspects he didn’t check who was calling.  
“Hi,babe.”

“Hi, Paige,” Nathan’s tone changes immediately to loving, although it changes again when he continues worriedly “is there something wrong? Are the kids OK?”  
Paige sighs good-naturedly, “Yes, both are fine. Laura is sleeping, she’s been fed and everything is fine. But listen, Chloe called me, she’s decided to transform today. Soon. Could you eat your lunch at home so I could go be there for her?”

Nathan is quiet for a moment. Paige knows his issue isn’t with coming home for lunch, Nathan is a natural father and would spend all his time with his kids if he could. It's the fact that this would be her first time dealing with an Inhuman transformation alone. The powers can be unpredictable.

“I know what you’re thinking, Nathan. Chloe is my friend, she asked me and I want to be there for her. I can handle this.” 

Nathan sighs, “I know, I just… I worry. Inhuman powers aren’t the same as the Troubles. But I can be there in about 15 minutes. OK?”  
“OK. I love you.”  
“Love you too.”

Paige ends the calls and starts thinking about what she should take with her, thinking about what Chloe might need. She decides to go to the store before hand, get some ice cream and something quick to cook, so Chloe doesn’t have to worry about that for a few days. 

Nathan’s word is good and he is back home within 15 minutes. He finds her looking down on their daughter in her crib.  
“Hi, babe,” Nathan gives her a kiss on the cheek and they spend a minute just watching their sleeping daughter. 

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Nathan asks her quietly as their leave their daughter’s room.  
“Chloe wants me there. Oh, she told me to give her love to you and the kids.”  
“Tell her thanks. I just… I want you to be sure. I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Nathan whispers worriedly.

Paige strokes his cheek in a calming gesture. Even though Nathan has been Trouble free for years, touch is still extra important to him.  
“I understand that you’re worried, but I know what I am doing. OK? We’ll be fine. It would probably be best if after lunch you drop off Laura at Vicky’s and pick her and James up after work. You never know how late these things can get. OK?”

Nathan kisses her palm, before pulling her to him and kissing her lips probably.  
“That sounds like a good plan. Call me if there are issues. Remember to have a paramedic ready nearby, in case her power is destructive.”  
“I promise. I’ve dealt with these types of things before, remember?”  
“Yeah. Now go. I’m sure Chloe is already waiting for you.”

They share one last kiss goodbye and while Paige gathers her things, Nathan starts making himself lunch. Paige doesn’t stop herself from having one last look at Nathan. She loves it when he’s all domestic. Nathan looks back at her, blushes a little and gives her a wave. She smiles when she returns it before she's out the door.

***

She takes her car. After Nathan's Bronco finally practically died, they decided that it would be best that they get two cars. They have enough separate driving needs that it made sense. Even so, Nathan still keeps his Bronco in storage for special occasions. Somehow he manages to get it working when he needs to. It’s been a while since the last time, though.

At the store, Paige buys junk food and frozen dinners for Chloe. She suspects Chloe will need some more encouraging, so just hanging out for a bit is probably required. It’s gonna be fun. Chloe and Paige got along great very quickly after Chloe came to Haven among the first ‘official’ Inhumans.

She takes longer in the store than she planned, so Chloe is already waiting for her somewhat impatiently. Chloe is a 31 year old biracial Chinese woman who grew up mostly in Australia, whose family has always known they were Inhuman. Some of them have gone through the transformation, but Chloe still hasn’t.

“Sorry I’m late. I had to get junk food and reassure Nathan that I can do this,” Paige tells Chloe as they hug inside Chloe’s place, “he worries too much.”  
“Maybe he has some reason for it,” Chloe says hesitatingly when they break the hug. She is still clearly not completely sure she will go through with the transformation. It’s OK.  
Paige is there to help her, whatever she decides to do.

“Nah, he’s just really cautious. So, wanna watch a movie first? Nathan is taking Laura to Vicky’s after lunch. We can have all day.”  
Chloe gives Paige a hesitant smile, “Sure, sounds fun.”

They choose some silly romcom, they eat chips and dip, and they laugh and give commentary throughout. After the credits start rolling, Chloe seems more calm.

“You ready to talk about it?” Paige asks while she collects the dishes to take them away. 

“Yeah. It’s a kinda weird feeling. I’m a Descendant, I grew up knowing this part of me, always kinda waiting maybe getting chosen. But then I got older and Jiaying still didn’t choose me, and I accepted it, at least somewhat. I came to America, became a teacher. It was a good life. Then all the drama in Afterlife happened, and now… It’s up to me to do this or not. Part of me wants, because this is my heritage. But a part of me is scared. What type of power will I get? Will I be able to control it? There are so many things to consider.” Chloe sighs and bites her lip nervously. “I’m not sure what made me think I was actually ready for this today.”

Paige takes Chloe’s hand, “Hey, you need to think what is the right choice for you. Are you ready to have your life change, get powers?”

Chloe looks away from Paige quietly for a while. Paige patiently waits for her decision. There is new determination in Chloe's eyes when she looks back at Paige.

"I am. This is my heritage. Hopefully I will get some cool power I will be able to use to help people." 

Paige hugs Chloe again and smiles. "I'm happy you made your decision." 

"Really making the decision, it's a weird feeling. But I'm really ready now," Chloe tells Paige as she stands up. The fish oil bottle has been on the table this whole time, just waiting for Chloe to make a decision.  
"I'll be here for you when it's over," Paige tells her.  


Chloe takes one capsule, takes a deep breath and eats the capsule with some water. For a moment, nothing seems to happen. But soon, the Terrigen takes over Chloe's body and she turns into a statue. Chloe looks peaceful throughout the process. 

The Inhuman transformation process is always pretty harrowing. Paige has been through these before, but it is always somewhat unsettling, the way the rocky substance takes over a person. But she knows it's normal, and Chloe hopefully made the right choice. She is still on the couch as she calls the paramedics. The powers are unpredictable, so it is always best to have medical help nearby. They will be at Chloe's soon. They are starting get used to these cases. She also texts Nathan, letting him know that Chloe went through with it and that there will soon be another inhuman in Haven. Nathan tells her that he'll go home soon and that he will pick up the kids from Vicky's.

Paige can be a bit inpatient, so she starts to clean up a little while waiting for Chloe's transformation to finish.  
Paige starts to get worried after about 10 minutes, but then the cracks start to form. Paige is by Chloe's side immediately. She's there to catch Chloe as she falls to the floor, breathing heavily, almost in a panic. Paige holds on to her and helps her calm down. They sit on the floor for a few minutes before Chloe feels calm enough to deal with the aftermath. 

"Are you better now? Do you feel different?" 

"I'm better now, thanks." Chloe takes a few moments to really *feel*, figure out how and what she feels. "I think I do feel kinda different. Not sure how, but I do. Do I look different?"  
There are still a Terrigen pieces on Chloe, but when Paige pulls back to really look at her friend again, she doesn't notice any physical differences. She starts taking away the rest of the Terrigen as she tells Chloe "Nope, you look like the same old Chloe. I guess we need to wait to find out what your power is."  
"I guess." 

Paige and Chloe both help each other get off the floor. As Paige finishes getting rid off the Terrigen, she happens to look down on her hand. It's dark. It's not quote Aether, but it reminds her of it enough that she has a flashback (Mara in early colonial clothes, talking to a familiar looking man, Mara's hand is black and her smile is wicked) and she feels dizzy and Chloe has to catch her so she doesn't fall. Her flashbacks haven't been like this in ages. 

"Paige, are you OK?" Chloe sounds worried.  
"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." Paige gives her a reassuring smile. She cleans off the last of the Terrigen on her hand. 

"The paramedics are probable here now. They will check you out physically and I'm sure some other Inhumans can help you adjust to your powers. Whatever they end up being." 

They walk outside, and sure enough, the parademics are waiting for them. They exchange some small talk with them and soon enough, Chloe is ready to go.  
"Thank you so much, Paige." They hug one more time.  
"Glad to help you. Let me know how things develop "  
"I will. Bye!"

Paige waves to the disappearing ambulance. After it's gone, she makes her way to her own car and just sits there for a bit. Thinking about what she saw. Remembered. 

Paige’s memory is… complicated. Paige’s memories are the primary ones. That’s who she now is. But she couldn’t live in Haven, be with Nathan, without getting lots of déjà vus. She has lots of Audrey’s memories. It’s not quite the same situation as with Lexie and Audrey after the Barn. She’s not sure she could become *just* Audrey anymore. She quite likes being Paige. Paige is less tragic than Audrey was. She doesn’t remember the choice and why she came back as Paige instead of as Audrey, but she assumes it has a purpose. 

She has some memories from the other women she’s been. Mostly from 1900s (Veronica, Patricia, Sarah, Lucy) but there have been others, too. She’s not sure why her memories have opened up like this now. She’s not completely sure of how and why she got to come back. One of those mysteries of life. She hasn’t gotten a Mara flashback before. Not even from the time Mara took Audrey over. Mara is different. But she had one now. 

*flashback*

Paige is not sure about what century it is. Mara is dressed in similar clothing to the William memories Audrey had. William is not there though. There is another man, however. He looks somewhat familiar, but Paige doesn’t know why, immediately. Once Mara talks to him though, she knows instantly.

“My, my, Mister Hansen. What a cold, unfeeling bastard you are.”

“Just because I have no interest in you, Miss Cross, does not make me unfeeling. And there is nothing untoward in my birth,” Hansen (Paige does not know/remember his first name) tells Mara, in a flat but defensive tone. 

“I don’t mean just me, Hansen. There is something… off about you. It’s kinda fascinating,” Mara smirks, puts her hand into a pocket in her dress and takes something out. Aether. She rolls the blob in her hand, looks at Hansen thoughtfully. “I think I have just the right Trouble for you.”

She starts advancing on Hansen, who looks at Mara’s blackening right hand quizzically. “What are you talking about, miss?”  
Mara smiles at Hansen’s confusion, “Haven’t you heard? I’m a bit of a villain around here.” 

She catches up to Hansen, first taking his hand on her Aether-free one, stopping him from moving away. Then she takes the hand with Aether and puts it on Hansen’s chest, under his shirt. She moves her left hand to Hansen’s neck, to keep eye contact with him when she figures out how this Trouble should work.  
(Paige can feel Mara’s delight at feeling the Aether working, a new Trouble has been created.)

“In case you have any, your future children are going to just *love* you,” Mara cackles.

*flashback ends*

Paige is back in her car, in 2015. She only saw a fracture of the flashback when seeing the Terrigen in her hand. She needed to focus to see the rest. She wishes she hadn’t. She takes a few minutes to just calmly breath, in and out, in and out. Mara doesn’t exist anymore. She can’t hurt people anymore. After a while, she is calm enough to start driving home.  
**

Finally, she arrives home to Nathan and the kids. Nathan has already cooked dinner for the 2 of them and fed the kids. James runs to hug her legs and Nathan brings Laura to her. Laura is a rather sleepy baby so she is looking at her Mom about ready to go to sleep already. She likes to sleep and wake up often. Her parents are eagerly waiting for the time she has a proper schedule but she's not there yet. Nevertheless, she strokes Laura's cheek and gives her forehead a kiss, before giving another kiss to Nathan. 

She had decided that she won't tell Nathan about the flashback. He would just worry about it too much. And he doesn't need to know she remembers how his ancestor was Troubled. Her memory works randomly and sometimes flashbacks happen, with or without a reason. She can't worry about it, she just needs to live her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters are coming, slowly but surely.


	4. Daisy meets Nathan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy meets Chief Nathan Wuornos and finds out about Haven's history and its possibilities for inhumans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been almost a year since I updated this, sorry about that. Took a while to figure out how I wanted to write this. 
> 
> This has 2 more chapters coming up, one is a Nathan PoV version and the last one is a proper meeting between Nathan, Daisy and Paige (and the kids). I will hopefully write those a lot quicker.

Daisy Johnson steps inside the Haven Police Department. She’s dressed up as what she hopes looks like a reporter’s outfit. She doesn’t want to play the S.H.I.E.L.D. card, but she doesn’t really pass as a cop either (nor does she want to). If she plays her cards right, she might get whoever is in charge to tell her what she needs to know under the guise of a news article. 

Daisy finds the info desk where a lovely woman named Laverne calls her ‘hon’, and tells her where she can find Chief Wuornos (so, that’s how you say it!). Daisy thanks Laverne and makes her way to the Chief’s office. She is surprised no one asks what she’s doing there, but she guesses small towns are like that. 

Daisy knocks on the door that says ‘Chief Wuornos’, and enters the office when she hears a ‘come in’. 

The man sitting by the desk is about a decade older than she is, someone with an air of having been through hell and back (takes one to know one), yet not what Daisy expected of a small town police chief. This one must be junior to the Wuornos Coulson met all those years ago. Even though he’s sitting, Daisy can tell he’s tall, brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Definitely the type of guy you bring home to your parents. As someone has, judging by the ring on his left hand. 

She takes a quick moment to look around the office. At the wall, there is a picture of a man who looks so much more like what Daisy expected a chief to be. She doesn’t see much resemblance between the current and former Chiefs, so there must be a story there. She can also see pictures of a brunette woman with two toddlers, both with blue eyes and brown hair. Cute kids. 

By the time Daisy is done with her short examination of what she can tell about this man based on his office, he is already standing up, inviting her in. 

”Thank you, Chief Wuornos,” Daisy hopes she said that right, and the man doesn’t make a comment if she didn’t. 

”No problem. Call me Nathan.” 

”Was ‘Chief Wuornos’ your father?” Daisy asks, looking at the picture on the wall. 

Nathan half smiles, slightly uncomfortable, “Adopted, but yeah he was.” 

Daisy’s not quite sure why she brought that up. She was curious. That explain the lack of physical resemblance. But she wonders a bit about the way Nathan said it. Was that a bonding attempt? Does she have ‘orphan’ tattooed on her forehead? And why is Nathan looking to bond with her? 

”Anyway. What brings you here in our lovely town, Ms….?” 

”Brody. Sue Brody,” maybe Daisy should’ve thought a bit more about her undercover name, but it should work for now. Although Nathan does have a slightly weird reaction to the name. Wonder why? 

”Alright, Ms. Brody. What can I do for you?” 

Both of them are sitting now and Daisy can read Nathan perfectly. He projects an image of calmness, but he is clearly good at hiding things. If she’s not convincing, he won’t tell her anything. She needs to be careful. 

”I’m doing a series of new paper articles about the Inhumans from a small town America perspective. I’m traveling all over the country, collecting opinions.” 

Nathan becomes even more still, if that is possible. Daisy is not quite sure how to interpret that reaction. 

”Which newspaper?” Nathan asks after a moment of silence. 

”It’s a kinda small newspaper in California.” Daisy really should’ve have thought this through more. She doesn’t even really have a good ID in case Nathan asks for it. Sometimes she really misses S.H.I.E.L.D. resources. (And the people there) 

Nathan seems to take a minute or two to just appraise her. Daisy knows she should continue talking, distract Nathan from any holes in her story. But frankly, she just needs to gain Nathan’s trust enough to ask him about Haven’s possible inhuman population. 

“Look,” Nathan leans forward on his desk and suddenly Daisy sees the Chiefness in him, “we might not have our own newspaper anymore, but we still get news from Bangor. I know who you are.” 

”And who do you think that is?” Daisy tries to sound nonchalant. 

”Quake.” 

Daisy freezes. Nathan doesn’t say it like ‘Quake’ is a criminal, or someone that cannot be trusted. Just matter of fact. Daisy’s not sure what that means. “There’s never been a clear picture of her in the media. What makes you think I’m her?” 

Nathan leans back and shrugs, “I know some inhumans. Some of them know you. Know what you can do, what you’ve been doing.” 

The matter of factness continues. Daisy is not really sensing hostility from Nathan, but she’s not quite sure how to proceed. 

Nathan decides to break the silence, “Let’s be honest. You’re not a journalist. I don’t know what your actual angle here is. I do know about the inhuman population in Haven. Have known before the rest of the world found out about them.” 

”How?” Daisy is curious about how Nathan knows about inhumans, and why. “Are you an inhuman?” 

”No,” Nathan shakes his head but doesn’t continue. 

”So. You know about us. What are you planning on doing about it?” Daisy’s voice is protective. 

”Nothing bad. They have a right to be here. Some of them have been for generations. We take care of our own here. I'm not going to make any trouble for them,” Nathan laughs a bit and smiles, like he made an inside joke that Daisy doesn’t understand. 

Considering everything Daisy has seen and been dealing with the Watchdogs, Afterlife and everything else she had to do to protect the inhumans since they were revealed to the world, she has a hard time accepting it could be that simple for Nathan and Haven. 

”Really?” 

”Really. There are inhumans here, you can ask around. They are welcome in Haven.” 

”Why?” Daisy feels like she should elaborate, but she’s just so confused about Nathan’s and Haven’s reaction. It hasn’t been like this anywhere else she’s been. 

Nathan sighs, “Haven’s always been a special place. It’s tried to life up to its name for centuries. Sometimes it did, a lot of times it didn’t. I’ve been through both stages.” 

”Was there something specific in Haven?” 

”We called them the Troubles. They’re over now, but I was one of them. I did my best to help other Troubled people, and I plan on doing the same thing for the inhumans.” Nathan turns suddenly self conscious and rubs at the back of his neck. “It’s a really long story.” 

”The Troubles? What were they?” 

”Kinda similar to the inhumans, except they ran in families. People in families would have the same Trouble that might be triggered. Although they worked in cycles, so the abilities came back and disappeared every 27 years.” 

”Weird, that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t really deal with them,” Daisy wonders, out loud but mostly to herself. 

”You’re from S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Nathan asks, and Daisy is again uncertain what Nathan’s tone means. 

”I was. And my name is actually Daisy,” since her cover was immediately blown she forgot to really introduce herself. She’s not quite sure how she feels about ‘Quake’ yet. “I only found one report on this town and it didn’t say anything about the Troubles.” 

”Yeah. Phil Coulson came here in ’07. I met him then.” 

Daisy smiles a bit when she thinks of the report, “I think he met your Dad, too.” 

Nathan smiles back, ”Yeah he did.” 

”So, you know my ability. I make earthquakes. What was your skill?” 

Nathan seems to shut down a bit, and suddenly his hands, seem to try to touch every surface within reach, “I was physically numb. For almost 5 years.” 

”Wow,” Daisy is not quite sure what to say to that. “We were made as weapons by aliens. What were you made for?” 

”Punishment. For fun. As weapons. It was complicated. By beings from another dimension.” 

”Again, wow.” 

Nathan’s demeanor changes, becoming understanding yet authoritative,”I know where you are coming from. I assume you are very protective of your people, and I understand that. They are in good hands here. We know how to deal with out of control powers, help people adjust to them.” 

Daisy nods. “That’s great. It’s what I wanted to know. I just needed to check whether Haven was too good to be actually true.” 

”Trust me, it isn’t always. But we try. Everyone here accepts the inhumans. At least most do.” 

”That’s good. I guess, my job is done, then.” 

”Are you planning on staying long in Haven?” 

”Not long. Might see for myself whether your hype is real or not, but I don’t have time to stay in one place too long.” 

”You should have dinner with me. I mean, with my family. Because I’m very happily married, and this is not a hit on attempt. Because I don't actually do that. But I think you and my wife would get along. She's had a lot of experience with this type of stuff. You could also meet Rebecca, she's an inhuman, although she hasn't gone through the transformation yet.

Daisy smiles awkwardly. It's part Nathan's awkwardness, her own trust issues and the somewhat odd invitation. But if she's going to trust that Haven will take care of her people, she needs to trust the people there. 

"That sounds good. Would day after tomorrow work?" 

"Yeah. Here's my card. We can settle the details tomorrow." 

"Sounds good, Chief." 

Before Nathan can comment on that, Daisy has left his office. She has a lot of things to think about. For some reason, she trusts Nathan and she is curious about this town. 'Haven for god's orphans'. Maybe there is a place for inhumans to exist in peace after all.


End file.
